Crimping tool with strip feed mechanism



Jan. 25, 1966 M L KLINGLER CRIMPING TOOL WITH STRIP FEED MECHANISM 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 23, 1964 Jan. 25, 1966 M. L- KLINGLERCRIMPING TOOL WITH STRIP FEED MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 25, 1966KLINGLER 3,230,758

CRIMPING TOOL WITH STRIP FEED MECHANISM Filed March 23, 1964 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 25, 1966 1.. KLINGLER 3,230,758

CRIMPING TOOL WITH STRIP FEED MECHANISM Filed March 23, 1964 4Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent 3,230,758 CRIMPING TOOL WITH STRIPFEED MECHANISM Martin Luther Kliugler, Hershey, Pa., assignor to AMPIncorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Mar. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 353,871 3Claims. (Cl. 72-410) This invention relates to crimping devices forcrimping electrical terminals in strip form onto the ends of wires.

An object of the invention is to provide a crimping device having animproved feeding means for feeding terminals in strip form towards thecrimping dies. A further object is to provide an improved hand tool forcrimping electrical terminals onto wires. A still further object is toprovide a manually actuated hand tool for crimping terminals in stripform onto wire ends including means for feeding the strip during eachoperating cycle of the tool.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferredembodiment thereof comprising a hand tool having a C-shaped frame memberon which a fixed crimp ing die is mounted. A ram is slidably containedin the frame member for movement towards and away from the fixedcrimping die. A crosshead is secured to the ram and extends laterally oneach side of the path of reciprocation of the rain, this crossheadincluding a movable crimping die for cooperation with the fixed crimpingdie to crimp a terminal onto a wire end. Uncrimped terminals in stripform are fed across the crosshead to position the leading terminal ofthe strip between the crimping dies by a feeding means which comprises afeed slide mounted on the crosshead and reciprocal, with respect to thecrosshead, towards and away from the path of movement of the ram. Thisfeed slide is provided with a pawl which engages the strip and advancesthe strip across the crosshead during movement in one direction. Thefeed Slide is reciprocated by means of a wire spring which is secured atone end to the slide and extends obliquely towards the frame of thetool. The opposite end of this spring is secured to the frame at alocation remote from the crimping dies. The preferred embodiment of theinvention includes a manually actuated toggle mechanism for moving thecrosshead towards and away from the fixed die. The arrangement is suchthat during movement of the crosshead towards the fixed die, the wirespring is straightened and urges the feed slide towards the path ofreciprocation of the ram. When the crosshead moves in the oppositedirection, the wire spring is flexed and moves relatively away from theram thereby to move the feed slide away from the path of reciprocationof the ram.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a frontal view of a preferred form of hand tool inaccordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side View taken along the lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary frontal view of the tool of FIGURE 1 showingthe position of the parts of the strip feed mechanism at the beginningof' the operating cycle;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the positions of theparts after closure of the tool handles;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the crosshead on which thestrip feed mechanism is mounted;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective View of a section of terminal strip;

FIGURE 7 is a view taken along the lines 77 of The strip 2 comprises apair of parallel carrier or side strips 4, 6, and contact terminals 8which are integral with the carrier strip 4. The two carrier strips areconnected together by means of transverse rungs 14 and the terminals aredisposed between adjacent rungs. Carrier strip 4 is provided withspacedapart pilot holes 12 formed during the manufacture of the stripwhich are utilized in feeding the strip as described below. Eachterminal has a pair of upstanding ears 18 adjacent to the carrier strip4 which, during crimping, are curled towards each other and downwardlyinto surrounding relationship with a wire.

The disclosed form of crimping tool has a C-shaped frame membercomprising a web 20, and upper arm 24, and a lower arm 22. A rod 26secured to the lower arm 22 by means of pins 28 extends downwardly asviewed in the drawing constituting an integral extension of the frame.An L-shaped die 'holder 30 is mounted on the underside of upper arm 24by means of a screw 32. A depressor 36 (the function of which is fullydescribed below), and a fixed crimping die 38 are mounted on the dieholder 30 by means of a screw 34 which extends through the depressor,through the die 38, through a suitable spacer 44 and into the dependingarm 40 of the die holder. As shown from FIGURE 1, the lower end of thisarm 40 is provided with slots 42 which provide clearance for thetransverse rungs 14 of the terminal strip when the leading terminal ofthe strip is crimped.

A ram 46 is slidably contained in an axial bore in rod 26 and extendsupwardly as viewed in FIGURE 2 beyond the lower arm 22. A crossheadgenerally indicated at 48 is secured to the upper end of the ram 46 andcomprises an L-shaped block 50 mounted on the upper end of the ram and acrosshead plate 74 (FIGURE 5) secured to the block 50. Ears 52 extendfrom block 50 on each side of the ram and handles 56 are pivotallyconnected to these ears by means of pins 58. Each handle 56 is pivotallyconnected intermediate its ends by means of parallel link plates 60 tothe lower end portion 66 of the rod 26.. In the disclosed embodimentthese parallel plate links are pivotally connected to pins 62 in thehandles at one end and to a common pivot .pin 64 on rod portion 66 attheir opposite ends. It will be apparent that the arrangement shownconstitutes a toggle type linkage which is arranged such that when thehandles are moved relatively towards each other, the block 50 and thecrosshead 48 will be moved upwardly towards the upper arm 24 of theframe. In order to return the handles to their initial position, returnsprings 68 are provided which are connected at one end to the pivot pins58 and at their opposite ends to a yoke 70 mounted on the rod portion66.

It is desirable in connector crimping tools to provide a full strokecompelling mechanism between the handles which insures that aftercommencement of a crimping operation, the dies will be moved towardseach other by the requisite amount required to crimp the terminal. Amechanism of this type 72 is provided on the disclosed tool andcomprises a telescoping ratchet mechanism of the general type shown inUS. Patent No. 2,560,318.

The crosshead frame plate 74 is secured to mounting plate 50 by means ofa screw 76 and extends laterally on each side of the ram 46. On itsrearward side, crosshead plate 74 has a vertical slot 78 within whichthe lower or movable crimping die 82 is contained. This crimping dieextends upwardly from a flange 81 which, in turn, is integral with aplate 80. The plate 80 is interposed between the upwardly extending arm52 of mounting block 50 and the rearward side of the crosshead plate 74,the mounting of the parts being achieved by means of the screw 76 whichextends through aligned openings in the 3 crosshead plate 74, the dieplate 80, and is threaded into the arm 52.

The terminal strip is fed over the upper surface portions 83, 85 of thecross head plate from right to left in FIGURE 1 by means of a feed slide84 (FIGURE 5 This feed slide comprises a plate disposed against thefrontal surface of the crosshead plate on the left-hand side thereof andnormally projects leftwardly beyond the end of the cross-head plate.Feed slide 84 has a rightwardly extending guide bar 86 integraltherewith which is slidably received in a groove 88 on the face of thecrosshead plate. A flange 94 extends rearwardly from the lefthand sideof the feed slide and bears against the face of an L-shaped block 96,the flange 94 of the feed slide being supported by a ledge on thisL-shaped block as indicated at 98. A screw 100 is threaded through theblock 96 and into the flange 94 of the feed slide to secure these partstogether.

In order to prevent leftward movement of the feed slide and the block 96beyond the position shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, a stop is provided in aform of a screw 102 which extends through an oversized opening in theblock 96 and is threaded into the crosshead plate on the left-hand sidethereof.

Reciprocation of the feed slide is achieved by means of a wire spring104 which extends into a slightly oversized opening on the underside ofthe block 96. When the parts are in their normal position (FIGURE 3)this spring extends downwardly and slightly convergently with respect tothe central axis of the tool towards the left-hand pivot pin 62. Thespring 104 extends through a guide 108 mounted on the left-hand pin 62then extends between the link plates 60 and towards the pin 64. Thelower end of this spring is curled around and secured to the fixed pin64 on the frame extension 66. Spring 104 is advantageously of springsteel and is capable of undergoing repeated fiexure without failure.

In operation, when the handles 56 are closed to move the crossheadupwardly from the position of FIGURE 3 to the position of FIGURE 4, theupper end 106 of the spring 104 is forced to move relatively rightwardlytowards the center of the tool, that is towards the crimping dies. Suchmovement of the upper end of the spring is brought about by virtue ofthe fact that its lower end 110 of the spring is secured to the pivotpin 64 so that the spring is partially straightened as is apparent froma comparison of FIGURES 3 and 4. It should be added that the guidemember 108 through which the spring extends assists in effecting theinward movement of the upper end of the spring since this guide membermoves rightwardly towards the axis of the tool along an upwardly arcuatepath. The rightward movement of the upper end 106 of the spring duringupward movement of the crosshead causes the feed slide 84 to moverightwardly from the position of FIGURE 3 to the position of FIGURE 4.After completion of the crimping operation, the operator releases hisgrip on the handles 56 which then move apart under the influence of thesprings 68. During such movement of the handles, the crosshead movesdownwardly towards the pivot pin 64 and the spring 104 is forced to flexresulting in relative leftward movement of the upper end of the springand the feed slide.

The feed slide is provided with a relatively deep slot 112 extendingparallel to the crosshead plate and a feed pawl 114 is pivotally mountedin this slot on a pivot pin 116. A torsion spring 118 bears against theunderside of pawl 114 and normally urges this pawl in a clockwisedirection about its pivotal axis 116. The left-hand side of pawl 114 isrelatively steep so that during leftward movement of the feed slide fromthe position of FIGURE 4 to the position of FIGURE 3, the pawl willenter one of the pilot holes and drag the terminal strip leftwardly. Theright-hand side of the pawl slopes gently towards the upp r surface ofthe crosshead plate so that the slide an 4- i t move rightwardly and thepawl will be depressed beneath the carrier strip during such movement.

A stop pawl is provided on the right-hand side of the tool frame asviewed in FIGURE 3 to prevent rightward movement of the strip when thefeed slide is moved right- Wardly during upward movement of thecrosshead. This stop pawl 128 has a rightwardly extending arm pivot=ally mounted on a fastener 138 within a slot 124 in a housing 122. Thishousing is secured to the crosshead plate by the fastener 138 whichextends from the rearward side of the crosshead plate through thecrosshead plate and through a threaded opening in housing 122.-

A cover plate 144 mounted on the face of crosshead plate 74 has arearwardly extending flange 146 on its upper end which projects over thecarrier strip 4 and which has suitable slots 147 through which the pawls114, 128 project. The function of this flange is to hold the carrierstrip against the upper surface portions of the crosshead plate and toguide the strip during feeding.

The cover plate 144 is pivotally mounted on its righthand side on thecrosshead plate 74 by means of a fastener 172. When the terminal stripis initially threaded through the tool, the cover plate 144 must beraised in order to permit the strip to be positioned beneath the flange146 of the cover plate. The raising and lowering of the cover plate 144is facilitated by a camming and latching mechanism comprising a sectorplate 178 which is secured to a screw 188 (FIGURE 7) which extendsthrough the pin 58. Screw 188 is normally biased leftwardly in FIGURE 7by means of a coil spring 180 interposed between the head of the screw188 and one of the surfaces of the handle 56. It will thus be apparentthat if the head of the screw 188 is pressed, the sector plate 178 willmove rightwardly from the position shown in FIGURE 7. A pin 182 isprovided in the sector plate and extends towards the cover plate 144.Normally this pin is disposed in a slot 184 (see FIGURE 3) in the coverplate and maintains the cover plate in its lowered position and inengagement with the terminal strip. When it is desired to raise thecover plate, the head of the screw 188 is pushed rightwardly in FIGURE 7and the sector plate is swung in a clockwise direction until the pin 182moves beyond a cam surface 176 on the lower side of the cover plate.Finger pressure on the screw 188 is then released to permit the sectorto move relatively towards the cover plate until pin 182 is disposedbeneath the cam surface 176. The sector plate is then swung in acounterclockwise direction causing the pin to move relatively over thecamming surface 176 and raise the cover plate. When it is desired tolower the cover plate the head of the screw 188 is merely pressed andthe cover plate is pulled downwardly against the upper surface of thecrosshead by means of a spring 186 which is secured to the left-handside of the cover plate and to the screw 188. After the cover plate hasmoved back to its normal position (FIGURE 1) the pin 182 is moved intothe slot 184 under the influence of the spring 180 to lock the coverplate in its lower position.

At the time of crimping the leading connector or terminal onto a wire,it is necessary to shear this leading connector at the rearward end ofits ferrule forming portion 18 from the section 10 of the strip. Thisshearing operation is carried out by means of a shear plate disposed infront of the fixed crimping die 38 in a location such that upon downwardmovement of the plate, the section 10 of the terminal strip will bedisplaced downwardly relative to the terminal which will be positionedand held between the crimping dies. Plate 160 is disposed immediatelybeneath a leg 162 on depressor 36 so that upon upward movement of thecrosshead and the plate, the shearing plate will be engaged by this legand moved relatively downwardly with respect to the movable die.Shearing plate 160 has an integral spring arm 164 which extendsrightwardly above the crosshead. The end of this arm has a forwardlyextending flange .5 166 which is bent downwardly in front of thecrosshead plate and is secured to the crosshead plate by a screw 170.

In use, the parts will normally be in a position shown in FIGURE 1 withthe crosshead in its lowered position and with an uncrirnpe-d terminalposition between the crimping dies. The operator first locates the endportion of a wire between the crimping dies and above the ferruleforming portion of the terminals. The handles are then closed to causeupward movement of the crosshead and the lower crimping die withconcomitant rightward movement of the feed slide relative to thecrosshead plate. The rightward movement of the feed slide results fromthe fact that the pin 64 moves relatively downwardly from the positionof FIGURE 3 to the position of FIGURE 4 and the spring 104 is therebypartially straightened. Since the ends of this spring are fixed, theupper end of the spring 106 is forced to move rightwardly in FIGURE 3moving the feed slide in the same direction. The pawl 114 is depressedduring this portion of the cycle and moves beneath the carrier strip 2until this pawl moves beneath the next adjacent pilot ball in the stripat which time it springs upwardly and enters next adjacent hole.

After the terminal has been completely crimped onto the wire, thehandles are permitted to return to their initial position under theinfluence of the springs 68. During the portion of the cycle, the spring104 returns to its original curvature (FIGURE 1) and causes the feedslide to move leftwardly thereby advancing the terminal strip a distanceequal to the spacing between the terminals. The feed slide is thusreciprocated by the flexing and unfiexing of the spring 104 as a resultof the closing and opening of the handles.

Change in construction will occur to those skilled in the art andvarious apparently different modifications and embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forthin the foregoing description' and accompanying drawings is offered byway of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intendedto be defined in the following claims when viewed in their properperspective against the prior art.

I claim:

1. A device for crimping electrical connectors in strip form onto theends of wires, said tool comprising a fixed crimping die, a movablecrimping die movable towards and away from said fixed die along apredetermined path, connector strip supporting means secured to saidmovable die and extending laterally of saidpath, reciprocable stripfeeding means slidably mounted on said strip supporting means formovement towards and away from said path to feed connector strip towardsand away from. said path and to position the leading connector of saidstrip between said dies, an elongated spring member which is stifl'lyflexible laterally of its axis, said spring member having one endsecured to said reciprocable strip feeding means at a location besidesaid path and having its other end secured at a point lying on said pathand remote from said dies, and actuating means for moving said movabledie and said supporting means towards and away from said fixed die andfor concomitantly moving said fixed point relatively away from saidtowards said dies to flex and unflex said spring means, said one end ofsaid spring means being moved relatively towards andaway from said pathduring flexing and unflexing of said spring means to move said feedingmeans towards and away from said path.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said spring member comprisesa wire spring.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fixed die is mounted ona frame member, said frame member having portions thereof on said path,said movable die and said strip supporting means being :slidably mountedon said frame member, said actuating means comprising a pair of handlesmounted on said strip supporting means, said axes being disposed onopposite sides of said frame and said path, each of said handles havinglink means pivotally connected thereto intermediate the ends of saidhandles, said link means being pivotally connected to said frame at acommon pivotal axis, and said point at which said other end of saidspring is secured lying on said axis.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 813,079 2/1906Brooks 81-9.1 2,055,257 9/ 1936 Maynard et al. 2,692,384 10/1954Pollock. 2,812,676 11/1957 Brown 8115 X 2,916,953 12/1959 Demler 81-153,075,198 1/1963 Over 81-15 X WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MICHAEL BALAS, Examiner.

1. A DEVICE FOR CRIMPING ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS IN STRIP FORM ONTO THEENDS OF WIRES, SAID TOOL COMPRISING A FIXED CRIMPING DIE, A MOVABLECRIMPING DIE MOVABLE TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM SAID FIXED DIE ALONG APREDETERMINED PATH, CONNECTOR STRIP SUPPORTING MEANS SECURED TO SAIDMOVABLE DIE AND EXTENDING LATERALLY OF SAID PATH, RECIPROCABLE STRIPFEEDING MEANS SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID STRIP SUPPORTING MEANS FORMOVEMENT TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM SAID PATH TO FEED CONNECTOR STRIP TOWARDSAND AWAY FROM SAID PATH AND TO POSITION THE LEADING CONNECTOR OF SAIDSTRIP BETWEEN SAID DIES, AN ELONGATED SPRING MEMEBR WHICH IS STIFFYFLEXIBLE LATERALLY OF ITS AXIS, SAID SPRING MEMBER HAVING ONE ENDSECURED TO SAID RECIPROCABLE STRIP FEED-